Page 30 of Because You Said Yes

He exited the meeting room once again, hoping she'd changed her mind about fighting for custody of Ivy.

“Hello, Mother. What is so urgent? Have you changed your mind about turning Ivy’s life upside down and dishonoring the wishes of your only daughter?”

“Bastien. Enough. I've called the house several times today, and no one is answering. I want to make sure my granddaughter is being cared for since you are not there.”

His mom had an uncanny ability to recognize when something wasn't right, even at a great distance. He wondered if that was motherly instinct when she wasn’t busy eating her young. Or just her ability to smell chum in the water. Whatever it was, she was somehow in tune and ready to swoop, as usual.

“Ivy is where she is supposed to be, at school.”

“But the babysitter isn't answering, either.”

“That’s correct. Her contract is complete, and she’s being replaced.”

“Who's watching my granddaughter?”

“Ivy is in good hands.” He reassured himself as much as his mother, but he didn't have that much knowledge about Charlotte or anyone else in town. He had to rely on his sister's judgment. After all, she moved to Willow Bay for a reason other than the house on the beach—though the cynic within him challenged the trusting assumption.

“Is she with strangers? They didn’t know anyone there. They weren’t there long enough to have friends.” He could almost picture his mother’s Louboutins pacing inside her newly renovated mansion, etching her anxiety into the hardwood floors. “This is why you're not a good fit. You left a grieving five-year-old with a virtual stranger when she could have been with her mee-maw.”

“She’s not with a stranger, but there’s no bigger stranger to Ivy than you,” he replied. Touching the depths of his despair had also given Bastien more resolve to keep his commitment to Chloe and Ivy, even if it meant constant fighting with his mother. “How many times have you seen her in the last year, two years, three years?” He knew she hadn’t seen Ivy in person for ages. The only contact she had with her was by video call, and that was infrequent, at best.

“It’s not because I didn’t try.” Her voice carried a note of resignation, or maybe even regret.

He had to believe his mother’s heart was in the right place. She would not willfully cause emotional or other harm to Ivy. “Mom, you and Chloe had different opinions on how to raise a child.”

“And you don’t know anything about children. What makes you a better choice than me?”

He had to concede he knew little about children and was still convincing himself he was the best choice to be Ivy’s sole guardian. “I was Chloe's choice. There is nothing more to say.”

There were several seconds that passed where everything was silent. “I'm going back to Willow Bay and getting my granddaughter. She shouldn't be left with strangers.”

He sighed heavily. In order to get his mom to stay where she was, he had to make her feel as if there was no cause for concern. “Mom,” he said, “I've been going to Willow Bay for a while now, and my fiancée is there. Ivy is in good hands.” Lying was not a comfortable place for Bastien, but damage control, in this case, required stretching the truth. Who was he kidding? This wasn’t stretching. Right now, unicorns were more real than a fiancée waiting for him in Willow Bay.

“Did I meet her at the funeral?”

“I'm sure you did,” came the reply.

“What was her name again?”

He wanted to end the conversation, if only to avoid his mother flying out to Texas. “You're only asking for a name so you can research and stalk her online, aren't you?”

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“Not at all.”

“So, tell me a name, then.”

“Why can’t our family just be like everyone else and live in peace?”

She sighed. “Because I have difficult children.”

“They say your children are a reflection of yourself.” He hoped not, but if he put the blame on his mother, she'd retreat.

“I have tickets to the Philharmonic and can't miss the concert, but I'll be there in two weeks, and I want to meet this fiancée and see Ivy.”

He ended the call and leaned back against the wall, rubbing his tired eyes. He could feel a slight panic rising in his chest. Thirty days to find a way out of his dilemma had just been compressed to fourteen. Now he had only two weeks to find a woman willing to pose credibly as his fiancée. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place and time was fleeting as usual.

He informed his team that the meeting was over and that he'd keep them posted while he was gone. He gave a senior executive authority, had his secretary book a flight, and left. His business could continue to run in his absence. He had to get out of there. By being away from Ivy and Willow Bay, he was causing more damage than good.

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